Origin

The early written form of cockroach was cacaroch, from the Spanish cucaracha ‘cockroach’. People adapted the spelling to make it fit in better with the more familiar English words cock and roach (Middle English), the freshwater fish, whose origin is unknown.

noun

Origin

The early written form of cockroach was cacaroch, from the Spanish cucaracha ‘cockroach’. People adapted the spelling to make it fit in better with the more familiar English words cock and roach (Middle English), the freshwater fish, whose origin is unknown.